Nepal flash floods: Toll crosses 1,000; morgues full, Kathmandu sees mass burials
3 min readKathmanduUpdated: Sep 2, 2026 05:03 AM IST
As dusk fell over Kathmandu and rain swept across the valley, a line of ambulances arrived at the western gate of Gokarna Forest Resort, a former retreat and hunting reserve of Nepal’s royal family.
Police personnel and workers soon began carrying the remains of unidentified victims of the Bhotekosi flash floods through the golf course into the nearby forest.
Two JCB excavators had dug large pits in the muddy embankment as officials watched. Nearly 75 bodies were interred and tagged with batch numbers for future identification.
A day earlier, more than 200 victims had been buried at four locations. The death toll rose to 1,050 on Tuesday as security forces recovered more bodies from eight districts, officials said.
Residents return to check their homes after the floods, at Trishuli in Nuwakot district, Monday. (Express photo by Tashi Tobgyal)Nearly 4,000 people remain missing, including 583 foreigners and 83 security personnel, the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Authority (NDRRMA) said. About 12,000 people have been rescued.
The disaster has pushed hospitals and mortuaries to their limits, while relatives continue searching for loved ones.
At Teaching Medical College, mortuary facilities have been stretched beyond capacity, with relatives arriving daily to identify family members. In Nuwakot district, 24 bodies were recovered from a single building in Betrawati on Tuesday, police said. All were found at Uttargaya Mini Mart, a shopping arcade there. They included 13 women, 10 men and one child.
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The Trishuli Hydro Power station lies in a destructed state and invisible in the photo ( photo shows the spot of the water way and the headgate) after the flash floods. (Express Photo by Tashi Tobgyal)
Search and relief operations have been hampered by continued rainfall and landslides, while relatives in remote villages scour riverbanks for those missing. Rescuers have also struggled to reach people stranded by the floods as intermittent rain persists. Authorities issued a fresh flood alert Tuesday after water levels rose in rivers across eastern, central and western Nepal.
The NDRRMA warned of a high possibility of flash floods in Nuwakot and Rasuwa districts, where water levels in smaller rivers and streams are expected to rise. It urged people living near rivers to remain vigilant and take precautions.
A photograph of a family lies amid the debris as search operations intensified. (Express photo by Tashi Tobgyal)
By nightfall at Gokarna, the large graves had been filled and the day’s work had come to an end. Silence settled over the forest. Beyond the burial site, Kathmandu continued with its usual bustle, though the heavy rain brought rush-hour traffic to a standstill. Families across the country, meanwhile, were still waiting for news of those who had not come home.
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